The Obama Administration has been putting the coal industry’s feet to the fire with new carbon-cutting initiatives, and a new report certainly won’t help coal’s case. Under the title, America’s Power Plan, the authors argue that the U.S. already has the technology in hand to make a rapid transition to renewable energy. What is needed, they argue, is an overhaul of utility regulations, with the aim of promoting growth in the more diverse, flexible and decentralized arena of renewable energy.

ADVERTISEMENT

The report has some solid credentials behind it, having been produced by the energy policy firm Energy Innovation along with the Energy Foundation, a member of the Midwestern clean energy consortium RE-AMP. It was also peer reviewed by scores of experts with diverse affiliations including government agencies, academic, nonprofit and private sectors.

Coal power and carbon emissionsWhen announced last week, the Obama Administration’s new proposals for limiting carbon emissions from coal fired power plants were met with vociferous criticism by the coal industry and its supporters, who made the case that the new rules would all but ban new coal power plants.

However, the new limits are not nearly as disruptive as they would have been just a few years ago. The construction of new coal power plants is already on the decline, and stiff competition from natural gas is not the only reason.